Truth Magazine

By Ron Halbrook

P& when left to his own lusts finds himself wallowing in a moral morass. Immorality is a quagmire of quicksand-the more we exercise ourselves in it, the deeper into trouble we sink. Moral issues and decisions involve our daily attitudes and habits, especially our conduct toward other people. Moral behavior is virtuous, righteous, clean, noble, and pure. Immorality debases the person performing the sinful act and degrades other people who are touched by the deed. It is debilitating in that it weakens any moral fiber which remains, and degenerative in that it leads to ever lower standards of conduct. The remedy is the cleansing power of Christ and this remedy is urgently needed now!

The Quagmire Of Immorality

Romans I tells the depressing story of how the Gentile world was gradually enveloped in the oppressive darkness of immorality. Men left the love of God and busied themselves in the quagmire of sin until they were hopelessly sunk in its filth. Their uncleanness and vile affections engulfed them in “all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness.” These godless degenerates were “full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice” and were “gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful.” Fearing the laws and the penalties of neither God nor man, they reveled in their sins and gave “hearty approval to those” who joined with them (Rom. 1: 18-32, KJ and NAS).

Satan uses the momentary pleasures of sin to make it attractive to man and to hide its malignancy. The father of lies got Eve’s attention by questioning God’s law and denying its penalty. Then he hypnotized and deluded her by pointing to the delight of the flesh in food, by stimulating her desire with the fruit’s beauty, and by stirring in her the ambitions of pride. There is nothing profound or complex about the devil’s approach to man. It is simple and direct. He appeals to “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 Jn. 2:16). All of us are susceptible to such enticements. We cannot blame God, our bodies, “circumstances,” or someone else for our sins. “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (Jas. 1:14-15).

Giving in to temptation is like scratching an itch-the more you scratch, the more it itches. Sin is a quagmire, ever pulling us deeper. Sin is a progressive disease, an all-consuming cancer. With individuals or with nations, the patient is terminal unless the remedy is found. “The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment” (Isa. 1:5-6).

Issues Of Fornication And Abortion

Both in the church and in the world, the presence and the progress of sin is shocking. Adultery and fornication abound on every hand. Religious leaders excuse it as the “new morality,” which tickles the ears of people committed to the proposition that any message permitting four legs in a bed is “moral.” The divorce rate topped one million in 1975 and marked its first decline in 20 years in 1982 at 1.2 million. Even some gospel preachers are afraid to tell those who take mates in violation of Matthew 19:9, “It is not lawful for thee to have her” (cf. John in Mk. 6:18).

Homosexuality is widely tolerated as an “alternative lifestyle.” Incest and other forms of child molestation have been publicized recently. Police investigators say of the magnitude of this problem, “We’re just at the tip of the iceberg” (Houston Post, 25 Nov. 1984, D-1,9). As the cesspool thickens, some stores now “sell bestiality video cassettes over the counter and sadomasochism clubs equipped with elaborate whips and harnesses” (Newsweek, 18 Mar. 1985, pp. 58-67).

Closely related to sexual immorality is the abortion plague. Our nation has lost about 1,200,000 lives in all the wars of its history, but fornicators and murderers are slaying more babies than that every year by abortion in our land. Abortion is not the mere termination of a pregnancy but is the extermination of a human life. “Hands that shed innocent blood” are an abomination unto the God of all life and the voice of innocent blood cries out unto God for vengeance” (Prov. 6:16-17; Gen. 4:10). America is awash in the innocent blood of infants!

Issue Of Lasciviousness

Whatever stirs the desire for immorality is lascivious, including pornography, dancing, and immodesty. Lasciviousness has become an accepted way of life. The ideas “that arousal of desire” or “sexual stimulation” is “one of art’s functions” and that “graphic sexual depiction” is “good, clean fun” creates an atmosphere in which “a majority of Americans support access to sexually explicit material in private.” “Home porn is booming” through TV and VCR’s (Newsweek, 18 Mar. 1985, pp. 3, 5867). Suggestive magazines are as close as your nearest grocery and drug store counters.

The older cheek-to-cheek style dancing involves vulgar handling of the opposite sex, and the newer stand-and-shake style involves vulgar viewing of the opposite sex. In the modern style, certain parts of the body move “sexily from side to side” or make “sensuous gestures” (Time, 20 Mar. 1964, p. 62). A famous teacher of this vice explained, “First, the dances are too easy not to dance. Second, they’re too sexy not to dance . . . Aaah, the girls really love these dances . . . Now they can be as wild as they feel . . . On the dance floor they’ve got no inhibitions” (Saturday Evening Post, 27 Mar. 1965).

As the poet Ogden Nash said of people in their swim suits, “Their clothes are riddles complete with answers.” Sports have promoted shorts more and more until it is harder for people to have a native sense of shame about wearing them. One designer commented, “Ever since jogging shorts . . . short lengths have been acceptable.” Another observer noted of the recurrent desire for shorter skirts, “Short skirts are for looking at legs, not style” (Time, 22 Oct. 1984, p. 108). The Bible still teaches that God loves the meek and quiet spirit of modesty, and that lasciviousness will keep us out of heaven (Gal. 5:19-21; 1 Pet. 3:1-5).

The entertainment industry constantly increases the flood of lascivious and immoral influences. Songs, movies, and TV programs promote hedonism-“If it feels good, it can’t be wrong, so go ahead and do it.” Sins such as gambling and drinking are glamorized in beautiful media ads on popular TV programs.

Issues Of Gambling And Drinking

In the decade of the 1970’s, the number of people who gambled legally rose “more than 340 percent . . . . Over 100 million people gamble on a regular basis” (State Legislature, Oct. 198 1, p. 20). Eighteen states have government-run lotteries, and all but four states allow gambling in some form. Americans wager a trillion dollars annually, or $4,500 for every man, woman, and child in the nation (U.S. News & World Report, 30 May 1983). Gambling violates the love of God and of our fellow man (Rom. 13:8-10). It is covetous, wasteful (most wagers are lost), dishonest gain (no goods or services exchanged), and a work of evil against our neighbor.

In the 1980’s, the amount of liquor and beer drunk in America has declined slightly, after a decade in which consumption of all alcoholic drinks kept rising. But many drinkers are simply switching drinks, from liquor to beer or wine. Wine consumption continues to grow (Wall Street Journal, 14 Mar. 1984, pp. 1, 18), after it doubled between 1970 and 1980 (Time, 14 Jan. 1980, pp. 63-66). Sales of sparkling wine such as champagne bubbled up to $1.7 billion in 1984, “34% more than in 1983” (Time, 31 Dec. 1984, p. 50). The drop in some drinking may reflect the health fad and protests against highway slaughter by drunks, but also the largest group of beer drinkers-males, 18-24declined in population for the first time in years at the same time figures on beer consumption dropped. The bottom line is that peer pressure to drink is still strong, drinking is considered sophisticated and macho, many religious leaders and even members of the Lord’s church have compromised on the subject, and the nation is flooded with alcohol.

Christians who excuse “moderate” or “social” drinking fail to see that the ability to make proper judgments, in both spiritual and secular affairs, is weakened from the very first stage of drinking. We are warned against “banquetings” or “drinking parties” in 1 Peter 4:3 (cf. KJ and NAS), or the use of intoxicants even when “not of necessity excessive” (R.C. Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament, p. 211). To protect ourselves from Satan’s subtle approach, we must “be sober,” a term meaning “free from the influence of intoxicants” and thus morally alert (1 Pet. 5:8; W.E. Vine, Expository Dictionary of N. T. Words, IV:44, 201).

Can we learn from experts who research the effects of alcohol on driving?

1. General Motors published an article on “How Much Is Too Much To Drink If You’re Driving?” It began:

First, you should understand that drinking any amount of alcohol can impair your ability to drive.

. . . For example, if you weigh 160 pounds and have had four beers over the first two hours you’re drinking, your Blood Alcohol Concentration would be dangerously beyond .05 percent, and your driving ability would be seriously impaired — a dangerous driving situation (Time, 4 July 1983).

2. Under the heading, “If You Drink, Don’t Drive,” we read:

. . . Drinking any amount of alcohol can impair your ability to drive . . . However, it is not true that beer or wine is less likely to make you drunk than so-called “hard” drinks. A 6-ounce glass of wine, a 12-ounce can of beer or 1 = % ounces of 86 proof whiskey have about the same amount of alcohol and will have the same effect on you (Alabama Farm Bureau News, Summer 1983, p. 5).

3. Information supplied by the automotive Information Council warns against the myth that “drinking beer or wine does not cause a problem.”

A driver doesn’t have to be legally drunk to make mistakes behind the wheel. The 140-pounder can be considered impaired after three drinks in two hours and that could cause errors in judgment and could lead to an auto accident (The Motorist [Journal of Alabama Motorists Assoc., AAA] Nov./Dec. 1983, p.3).

4. An article on “Drunken Driving” included this information:

A major study in Michigan showed that people who drink-even one can of standard beer-and then drive, have a three or four times greater chance of having an accident (Christianity Today, 5 Aug. 1983, pp. 10-11).

Just as drivers need to be alert, Christians need to be morally and spiritually alert by abstaining from all alcoholic beverages.

Cleansing Power Of Christ

Now is the time for men to see in our lives and to hear from our lips the light of God’s love and of God’s glory (Matt. 5:14-16). Christ said, “the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Lk. 19: 10). The pardoned sinner will hear these uplifting words from the Savior, “Go, and sin no more” (Jn. 8: 11). Christ shows the morally upright that even they need pardon from sin. He shows the vilest sinners that even they have hope of pardon. Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, swindlers – all may be washed, sanctified, and justified by the cleansing power of Christ. Jesus is calling today, now, for you and for me to believe the gospel, to obey the gospel, and to rise from the waters of baptism walking “in newness of life” (Rom. 6).

Guardian of Truth XXIX: 9, pp. 267-268, 276, 281
May 2, 1985

By Tom Roberts

Few things are more critical or dramatic than physical heart problems. One can been seemingly hale and hearty one moment only to be laid low the next. A heart condition can change one’s entire outlook toward life.

No less critical and dramatic is that condition of heart that is spiritual. We stand amazed at times to see faithful members (we thought) suddenly turn away from the Lord, the church and faithful service. How is it possible that someone can be faithful for years and then suddenly drop away from the Lord? I suggest that it only happened over a period of time while a spiritual heart problem lay hidden and suddenly manifested itself when the heart condition became critical. Then when the problem can no longer be concealed, an entire change in life style is seen. A Christian who used to be faithful is faithful no more; a father who used to set a good example before his children becomes a poor example – a teacher who used to love to stand before a class will no longer even attend. Yes, heart problems can change one’s entire outlook toward life.

But a bad spiritual heart takes a period of time to develop. One does not cease being a faithful Christian in a single moment. There are some subtle things that take place in the life of a Christian that may be difficult to spot that lead up to a “heart attack.” When we see a Christian fall away from the Lord, we have seen only the openly critical stage; much has already taken place in the heart that is not so readily visible, although extremely critical. Let us notice some background things that lead up to “heart attacks” of the spirit.

Losing the joy of salvation. David, the sweet singer of Israel, said. “Restore to me the joy of thy salvation” (Psa. 51:12). When David considered the forgiveness that he received from his sins, he rejoiced. Many of us have forgotten the feeling of cleansing that comes with salvation and the joy of knowing forgiveness. We take for granted the worship services and the fact that I have a right to participate. We forget the bittersweet joy of meeting around the Lord’s table. We fail to humble ourselves in prayer. We do not lose ourselves in the refreshing period of singing. Worship services become a tiresome bore, with a feeling of obligation rather than happiness. If this describes you, brother or sister, you have a heart problem. Unless it is corrected, it will get worse until you have a “heart attack” and die spiritually.

No interest in the lost. One of the things that indicates a spiritual heart problem is when you lose interest in the lost, either yourself or others. Each of us should dread sin and the terrible effects of it in our lives. Not only that, but we should be touched by the sins of others. Jesus wept over Jerusalem. The apostles moved out through their world with a sense of purpose, mission, and evangelism. Early Christians, when persecuted (Acts 8). went “everywhere preaching the word.” If it does not bother you to sit across the table from a member of your family who is lost, you have a heart problem. If you can sit in crowds at the stadium with never a thought of the thousands that are lost, you do not have the mind of Christ. If you can live by neighbors for years and never invite them to worship, gospel meetings, etc., there is something wrong. Indifference can be a deadly killer that leads to fatal heart attacks.

Discouragement. I know some Christians that are battle weary. It seems that life goes from one crisis to another. It matters little whether each crisis is financial, moral or of the family. After a while some people seem to experience battle fatigue. They just sort of wear out and give up. Suddenly one Sunday morning, such a person will decide to stay home rather than get up and go to an assembly of the saints. Wednesday night will be more of a bother than a help. It will suddenly no longer matter whether the children have the proper example before them. This Christian, smitten with one crisis too many, has a spiritual “heart attack” and tosses in the towel. How can we avoid this sort of thing? First of all, we need to be like Paul and affirm, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I must ream that I cannot fight life alone and unaided. Jesus has told us to cast all of our cares upon Him for He cares for us (Matt. 11:28ff). We need to have enough faith to know that Jesus is our Friend. He will help us bear up under the burdens of life. Don’t try to get to heaven on your own strength; it is an impossible task. Jesus will help you if you will let Him.

Conclusion

Are you having heart trouble? Do you find your love, zeal and faithfulness becoming more and more difficult to find? Friend, there is an answer. You need to find the Great Physician who can heal your heart disease. You need to drink deep of the waters of life (John 4), eat of the bread of life (John 4) and be led by the good Shepherd (John 10) to the pastures of eternal life. Don’t let a heart condition go untreated until you join that number (too large already) who have, like Demas, turned aside to the world. Go to the Lord and find the help that you need. Don’t pit it off; do it now! Don’t wait until you have a fatal heart attack that puts you beyond the reach of God’s grace. “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30).

Guardian of Truth XXIX: 10, pp. 289, 311
May 16, 1985

By Hoyt H. Houchen

God has demonstrated His power in different ways. God exercised His power when He said, “Let there be light: and there was light” (Gen. 1:3). God exerted His power when He “formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Gen. 2:7). God manifested His power when Old Mount Sinai was enveloped by- smoke and fire, and when neither man nor beast was allowed to touch it (Ex. 19:13-17). God demonstrated His power on the first Pentecost after the resurrection of Christ, when on that day, the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues (languages) “as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). We see God’s power demonstrated today as we are awed by the scope and magnitude of the universe, the majestic mountains and the expansive seas. God’s power is indeed observed in many ways, but the only power that God uses to save the human soul is the gospel of Christ. It is “the power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 1:16). The word 64power” is from the Greek noun dunamis, meaning “power, might, strength, force” (Arndt and Gingrich, Greek-English Lexicon, p. 206). Man cannot be saved by his own strength and power. He cannot be saved by his own plan or by his own works, apart from God’s way. Man cannot save himself (Jer. 10:23). It is only by the gospel, God’s power, that man is saved. Man must submit to it.

The gospel is “the good news” of man’s salvation. The word “gospel” (Gr. noun, euangelion) simply means “good news” (Ibid., p. 318). W.E. Vine states: “In the N.T. it denotes the good tidings of the Kingdom of God and of salvation through Christ, to be received by faith upon the basis of His expiatory death, His burial, resurrection and ascension” (Expository Dictionary of N. T. Words, Vol. 2, p. 167).

Since the gospel is “the good news” or “good tidings” of man’s salvation, it includes God’s plan of salvation-the scheme of human redemption. After declaring that the gospel is “the power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 1:16), Paul then adds, “For therein is revealed a righteousness of God . . .” (v. 17). “For therein” (in the gospel) is revealed “a righteousness of God from faith unto faith.” James Macknight gives a clear and concise meaning of this verse: “The gospel is the power of God for salvation, to every one who believeth; because the righteousness of God’s appointment by faith, is revealed in it, in order to produce faith in them to whom it is preached” (The Epistles, Vol. 1, p. 185). The word “righteous” or ‘righteousness” has more than one application. While it is true that God is righteous, “the righteousness of God” in Romans 1:17 does not refer to an attribute of God. “The righteousness of God” in this verse refers to God’s plan for human redemption. The word “righteousness” is so used in Romans 10:3. Paul, referring to the Jews, wrote: “For being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.” The Jews were not ignorant of His redemptive plan. Like many today, they were attempting to establish their own plan of salvation. R.L. Whiteside sums it up succinctly: “In the gospel is revealed a plan which makes men righteous.”

It is sad that some preachers today are not preaching God’s redemptive plan; in fact, they do not even mention it in their sermons. While my wife and I were visiting in another state, we heard a young preacher on a Sunday night. He preached a lesson that was true, as far as it went; but when he, extended the invitation, he simply said that if anyone wishes to respond he may come forward. This was all he said. Our immediate reaction was, respond to what? Any in that audience who were not Christians would never know from that sermon what to do to be saved. Jesus died that “repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name” (Lk. 24:47). But the preaching of repentance and baptism for the -remission of sins (Acts 2:38) seems to be a lost art in many pulpits of our present day. Sermons are sometimes preached when the specific terms of pardon are not mentioned. Too much else is coming from the modem pulpit. The right kind of preaching always includes the redemptive element. In fact, one who is not a Christian should never leave a service without knowing what to do to be saved. This does not mean that the steps of salvation must necessarily be given at the close of a sermon, as the preacher is stepping down from the rostrum; but somewhere in the sermon (beginning, middle or end), the redemptive element-the plan of salvation-should be included.

We should also remember that God’s redemption or offer of pardon is not only available to the alien but to the erring child of God as well. Forgiveness of sin is obtainable to both upon meeting God’s terms. To those not Christians, God has provided the necessary conditions (Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:38; 8:36-39; 22:16, etc.). For the erring child of God, the conditions of repentance and prayer are provided (Acts 8:22). Redemptive preaching will not comfort the hearts of the lost (aliens or erring children of God), but it assures them of the hope of salvation when they adhere to it. When God’s terms of pardon are clearly set forth, the sinner is not left in a quandary as to how to be saved. Not only is hope offered to the sinner, but he also learns how he can obtain that hope.

It is sad that there is a “drought” of fundamental preaching. It is obvious that some, because of their academic attainments, abstain from preaching the plain, simple and unadulterated gospel of Christ. Reader, there is no substitute for that kind of preaching. It is the only kind that will save the world. While first principles are not all that is to be preached (we need gospel sermons on right living, worship, and work), yet we are not instructed to forget them. “Leaving” or pressing beyond fundamentals is not forsaking them (see Heb. 6: 1). Certainly, we are to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18); but in doing so, let us not leave out the fundamentals God’s scheme of redemption-how men are to be saved. I am afraid that too many have allowed the devil to corrupt their minds from “the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3). The preaching of the cross was “foolishness” to those Greek philosophers at Athens in Paul’s day, but nevertheless to those who are saved it is “the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18). May we as gospel preachers, never become so sophisticated that we cannot with force preach the plain simple story of the Cross with clarity.

Others, no doubt, will deal with the need for, and emphasis upon, distinctive preaching in this special issue. But the present obvious trend away from this kind of preaching is coupled with the failure to preach or even mention God’s plan of salvation. Emphasis is not being placed upon the church of our Lord as being distinct from every denomination upon the face of the earth. Many seem to be afraid to expose error, thus failing to expose the false teachers. We must not shrink from declaring “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). Truth is to be preached in the right spirit and with the right motive, yet uncompromising, unwavering and with firmness. “Speaking the truth in love” is the admonition of Paul (Eph. 3:15), not “dressing down” an individual as such, but speaking and writing in love of the truth and in love of souls. Brethren, we must ever remember that our task is to preach the gospel to save souls. In fulfilling this responsibility, we must let those who are in error know where they stand (referring them to the Bible-book, chapter and verse) but with an attitude of kindness and humility, not harshly and with arrogance. All of us will do well to follow Paul’s advice (2 Tim. 2:25,26), “in meekness correcting them that oppose themselves; if peradventure God may give them repentance unto the knowledge of the truth, and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him unto his will.”

Preaching the gospel of Christ is a tremendous responsibility. It is more than declaring mere facts; it involves the task of presenting God’s redeeming love, the sacrificial death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for our salvation, and setting forth in unmistakable language, God’s conditions of pardon. Preaching should be characterized by a balanced diet, dealing with what God has given us to know. Fellow gospel preacher, let us never forget nor fail to declare those specific conditions of pardon as a part of God’s saving grace. May we never refrain from preaching what men must know in order to be saved. God-fearing and truth-loving brethren will never become weary when we preach the story that never grows old. May we never leave out the redemptive element in our sermons.

Brother, preach the fundamentals.

Guardian of Truth XXIX: 9, pp. 263-264
May 2, 1985

By Dusty Owens

When the assignment came to write on this subject, I was elated for I had intended to write on it “some day.” My interest in the Positive Mental Attitude concept (hereafter PMA) stems from my business, which is by nature a “people business.” I have been a student of PMA since 1966, having read well over a hundred books and magazines on the subject, while studying as many cassette tapes, and having held numerous seminars all over the North American Continent, teaching people its principles. PMA is not a passing hobby, I know it to be vital to the success of my business and important to living a Christian life.

I fell in love with the gospel of Christ in 1954 when I became a Christian, having studied my way out of Catholicism. I learned then, and know now, that the gospel is “the power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 1:16), and we don’t need to understand PMA to be saved. PMA is a system devised by men that can help us to be more effective with the gospel as we work in the kingdom of God.

The expression “Positive Mental Attitude” is no where found in the gospel, but many of the principles that comprise the concept are found there. The expression itself consists of three main thoughts: (1) one must be a “believing” person; (2) the mental process as the key to behavior is a matter of choice; and (3) “attitude” is formulated in the mental process which determines one’s personality and approach to life.

Before relating PMA to the gospel, it is helpful to understand what an “attitude” is. We hear a lot about it, but, what is it? The definition I have used for years is that an attitude is the way a person thinks, feels and acts toward people, things, places and ideas in any situation in his total environment.

Everyone has an attitude. You have certain feelings, opinions, and reactions to everything around you, i.e. people, work, school, government, God, Bible, church, etc. Your attitude shows constantly.

Mind: The Incubator Of Attitudes

Attitudes are “hatched” in the mind, which is located in the organ we call the brain. While psychologists and psychiatrists argue over how many compartments there are in the brain, we only need to be concerned with the mind containing two, the Conscious and the Subconscious, to understand how attitudes are formed.

The function of the Conscious mind basically is administrative. It works on the level of awareness as it gathers information from the environment and recalls other data from the Sub-conscious. It has a value system; it knows right from wrong. A protective mechanism allows it to rationalize and justify to its own end. It can only handle one thought at a time.

The primary function of the Sub-conscious mind is storage. It works much like a tape recorder or computer. It serves as memory or file system and sends information to the Conscious level at beck and call. It forms the attitudes that find expression outwardly, and all below the awareness of the individual. It controls many things that we do through automatic reflexation.

The five senses, sight, smell, hearing, touch, and taste, are the “gates” through which the mind receives stimuli (input). Hundreds of bits of input are handled daily, and enter the Conscious portion of the mind before finally registering in the Sub-conscious. Usually, we have to experience something over and over (“spaced-repetition”) before we “learn” it, and recall it.

Out of all this intake, images, words, thoughts, traits, and attitudes are formulated. When we express these in some way, the way we look, talk, walk, sit, etc., the sum is called our personality. This is the person that cannot hide himself. You are the sum of all you have allowed to enter your Sub-consciousness. For the Christian this is very important in its application.

Personality is an outward expression of an inner attitude. That attitude may be “negative” or “positive.” There is no such thing as being negative sometimes and positive other times. We are either a negative or positive personality (sorry, there is no “neutral”). There are “degrees” of negativism and positivism, and one may be more positive (or negative) than another.

A negative personality shows up as a pessimist. He sees nothing but the bleak side of life and is a trumpeter of doom and gloom; he feels inferior to others and has a lowconfidence level; therefore, he is quick to say “it can’t be done.” Also, he tends to complain and to criticize everything and everybody ad nauseam, to the point that he finds himself isolated because people do not want to hear him grumble and complain. There is a “law of the universe” that says, “Negativism Repels and Destroys.”

A positive personality is known for his optimism. He sees the potential for good and for success in life and uses his God-given talents with confidence. He does not feel superior to others but knows he can contribute to their welfare by working conscientiously beside them, and encouraging them with the message, “we can do it.” The “law of the universe” says, “Positivism Attracts and Builds.”

Now, what does all of this mean? We become positive or negative persons gradually. What we allow to come through our “gates,” and to enter our minds, will determine “who we are”! Whether we will be optimistic or pessimistic in life will depend on what we watch on television, what kind of music we listen to, what we read in the newspapers, magazines and books, what we talk about and listen to in conversation with others, etc. These experiences mold our attitude and personality. There is no way that we can subject ourselves to the filth of our society through these mentioned media and be immune to their attitude-shaping influences!

PMA Compared To The Word Of God

We must not think that utilizing PMA is emphasizing just the positive aspects of the word of God to the neglect of the negative ones: “Behold the severity of God” (Rom. 11:22); “Knowing therefore the fear of the Lord, we persuade man” (2 Cor. 5:11); “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31). Warnings (negatives) like these are accepted by the Christian in a positive way to formulate his optimism toward God, going to heaven, etc., knowing “whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth” (Heb. 12:5-13), and knowing “him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed unto him against that day” (2 Tim. 1:12).

The most basic tenet of PMA is becoming a person who can and will “believe.” There are countless numbers of people who have been inundated with negatives to the point that they are extremely suspicious, skeptical and sour in their outlook in life; among them are a great many professing to be Christians. Is it possible to have this disposition and be pleasing to God? Let us examine His word.

“Without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto him” (Heb. 11:6) and “belief cometh of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). Jesus taught if we had enough faith we would “seek . . . first his kingdom, and his righteousness” (Matt. 6:33), and if that faith were as large as a mustard seed, we could “move mountains” (Matt. 17:19-21). Faith is the very foundation of the Christian’s experience which originated in the mind of God to effect our salvation (Heb. 11: 1; 1 Cor. 1:21; Acts 16:31).

The second most basic tenet of PMA is that the mental process is the key to behavior. When God created man in His own image, one of the distinctive qualities He gave him was his mind. This ability to think, reason, imagine, win, remember, etc. set him apart from all animals as a free moral agent. He has the apparatus to determine right from wrong and to make choices. Therein lies his great power: thepower to choose. He determines what shall enter through the “gates” into his Sub-consciousness; therefore, he controls the kind of attitude he will form. And remember, what comes out of the Sub-conscious is what determines who he is.

Solomon stated, though in a negative setting, “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he” (Prov. 23:7), and “Keep (guard) thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23). Jesus stated it this way, “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth that which is evil: for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh” (Lk. 6:45; cf. Matt. 12:34; 15:18-19; Mk. 7:21). What is stored up in “abundance” in the Sub-conscious is the “treasure of the heart,” and it will come out! If what has been stored up (through the “gates”) is “good” (positive input based on the word of God), then what comes out in the behavioral pattern will be pleasing to God; but, if what has been stored up is “evil” (negative input from media, people, etc.), then what comes out will “defile the man.”

It is exciting to realize that through mind-programing we can become the person that God wants us to be. Both the PMA system and the word of God emphasize the importance of consciously laying up spiritual values in the mind. Blessed is the man that delights in the law of Jehovah and meditates in it day and night (Psa. 1: 1-2). “The law of his God is in his heart; None of his steps shall slide” (37:31). God said, “I will put my law into their mind, And on their heart also will I write them” (Heb. 8: 10-11). We can program our minds with God’s word if we will “think on these things” (Phil. 4:8), renew our minds (Eph. 4:23; Rom. 12:2), and set our minds on things above and not be so obsessed with things below (Col. 3:1-4).

The third most basic tenet of PMA is that one’s attitude determines his personality and approach to life. We have already seen that what is allowed to come through the “gates” formulates the attitudes of life. The Bible has much to say about proper attitudes. We must love God with our total being (Matt. 22:37); receive His word with meekness (Jas. 1:21) and with an open mind (Matt. 22:39), love our brethren (Jn. 13:34), our neighbors (Matt. 22:39), and even our enemies (5:44). In fact, our attitude must be permeated with love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, lowliness, compassion, tenderheartedness, and a forgiving spirit (Gal. 5:22-23; Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:12-14).

Far too many professing to be Christians have a negative attitude, and it is traceable to what they are inputting. Today’s saint (?) can readily give you the names of movie and TV personalities, when they were born, and how many times they have been married, but can’t even name the apostles or the books of the Bible; he can quote statistics and standings of any major sport’s figure and team, but can’t quote a single passage of Scripture; he can sit for two or three hours in bitter cold and sleeting rain to view some game, but gets “antsy” if the preacher goes over thirty minutes in a sermon; he can enjoy spending hours with companions who are not interested in spiritual matters, but he does not enjoy assembling with the children of God. There are too many more examples we could give.

Preachers are very susceptible to negative thinking. Many have the attitude that “nobody in the world is interested in being saved, but I’ll be doing my duty just preaching to the brethren year in and year out.” Brethren, that’s not work, that’s a joy! The real work is out on the battlefield of life, contending for the faith with the enemies of God, and sifting through the fields of harvest until you find someone to teach. Our job is not to decide who has “the honest and good heart,” but to sow the seed of the kingdom everywhere, optimistically. Let the power of God work!

There is a saying in the world of computer programming: what goes in, must come out; GIGO, garbage in, garbage out! This is how we get so negative. In many ways, we show that we are negative toward everybody and everything, and especially toward our brethren. Negative characteristics include anger, wrath, malice, shameful speaking, lying, bitterness, clamoring, railing, slandering and gossiping, strivings, jealousies, factions, divisions, parties, envyings, and a other works of the flesh (Col. 3:5-9; Eph. 5:25-31; Gal. 5:19-21). Some who profess to be Christians are among the most vicious people on earth. Paul had them in his day and warned, “If ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another” (Gal. 5:24).

What Is The Answer?

In terms of the gospel, we must all “put away, as concerning your former manner of life, the old man . . . and that ye be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, that after God hath been created in righteousness and holiness of truth” (Eph. 4:22-24). In terms of PMA, we must be re-programmed. To do that we must first choose the attitude we want. Do we want to follow God’s will, or do we want to do Satan’s bidding (Josh. 24:15; Rom. 6:16-17; 8:5-11)? If your answer is “God’s will,” then you must shut down the flow of negative input and increase the flow of positive input. Spend more time studying the Scriptures, meditating, praying, listening to sermons and hymns via tapes and records, conversing about God’s word, and by all means, involving yourself with the saints. You will soon find yourself becoming spiritually minded and interested in doing spiritual things, and God will be glorified!

Guardian of Truth XXIX: 9, pp. 259, 262, 278
May 2, 1985